Electing Past US Presidents

 

YouTuber Mr. Beat has revealed which candidate he would have voted for in each US presidential election since George Washington. He has left out those presidents elected in his own lifetime.

This seems odd to me: these are the very presidents on which he would have the most informed opinion. And if he is concerned about revealing his political bias, he already has, with his picks to this point.

I think I’ll fill in the elections since I first began to follow US politics, at the early age of seven. As a non-American, I didn’t vote for any of these folks.

1960—Kennedy vs. Nixon.

Kennedy, hands down. I was an Irish Catholic kid. There could be no question but supporting Kennedy, and putting at rest the ghost of Al Smith. Electing Kennedy felt like the dawn of a new millennium.

1964—Johnson vs. Goldwater.

Goldwater. I had an instinctive dislike and distrust of Johnson. He was a crook. Goldwater seemed a straight shooter. And I think, even in retrospect, Johnson was a terrible president. Goldwater too might have gotten the US bogged won in Vietnam—who knows?—but he would not have made all the expensive mistakes of the “Great Society.” And he would have set a model of honesty. History might have been very different, and much better.

1968—Nixon vs. Humphrey.

I really disliked Humphrey. McCarthy would have been my guy. Humphrey appalled me by speaking, in 1968, amidst the Vietnam War and the assassinations of RFK and Martin Luther King, of “the politics of joy.” And of referring to Nixon’s refusal to debate as “our Vietnam.” He struck me as the ultimate gladhanding two-faced professional pol. But Nixon was worse. I believe I can just look at some people, and see a darkness in their soul. Nixon was the first guy in whom I noticed this. He never looked comfortable, because he never told the truth. He was an almost satanic figure, in my mind.

1972—Nixon vs. McGovern

I had nobody to vote for. I liked Muskie, and I think McGovern stole the nomination by juking the rules beforehand. He was a cloying figure. And he sold out Eagleton; so much for imagining he was principled. But Nixon was beyond the pale. I would have had to vote McGovern.

1976—Carter vs. Ford

Another awful choice. Jerry Brown was my guy. Carter struck me as both utterly insincere and dangerously underqualified for the presidency. But Ford struck me as out of his depth as anything more than the president of a local Rotary. With his idiotic “Whip Inflation Now” pins. Yeah, that ought to do it.  And I felt the Republicans had to be punished for Watergate.

1980—Reagan vs. Carter

Getting rid of Carter felt like a blessed relief. I was not sold on Reagan as nominee, but at least he looked like a leader. I probably would have voted for anyone the Republicans nominated to get rid of Carter. Not because he was a bad man, but because he was incompetent.

1984—Reagan vs. Mondale

Definitely Reagan. Mondale looked to me like the typical unprincipled panderer, an impression sealed by his selection of Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. 

1988—Bush vs. Dukakis

I would have voted Dukakis. Bush alienated me with his Willie Horton ad, which I thought was racist. It also made capital punishment a hot button issue. I was opposed to capital punishment, and if this was the issue I had to vote against. Bush also alienated me with a call to make burning the American flag a criminal offense. He seemed to pander to voters’ worst instincts. Dukakis looked like a lightweight, but seemed a decent guy.

1992—Clinton vs. Bush vs. Perot

I felt Bush had to be voted out after breaking his “read my lips—no new taxes” pledge, or no politician would ever feel the need to tell the truth or keep a promise ever again. Clinton was one of the “seven dwarfs,” a historically unimpressive Democratic primary field. He was underqualified, and a huckster. I would have voted Perot, for his concern over the national debt.

1996—Clinton vs. Dole vs. Perot.

Dole. Dole was a bright guy, and I felt he had earned it. He was more qualified than Clinton. It would have been nice to have a president with a sense of humour. And the sleaze of the Clinton administration was alarming.

2000—Bush vs. Gore

Bush. Gore was the originator of the Willie Horton hit. Another guy who seemed uncomfortable in his body, because he was not truthful. Another dark face. And it seemed to me the Democrats needed to be punished for the sleaze of the Clinton years. It was time to clean house. Gore impressed by choosing Lieberman for VP, though. Bush looked like a lightweight, but at least like a decent guy.

2004—Bush vs. Kerry

Bush. Kerry gave me the creeps. Another dark, insincere face. Especially trying to capitalize on his military service, when he was so critical of the military he served. I felt no ambiguity in cheering for Bush, even though I doubted his abilities.

2008—Obama vs. McCain

McCain had been my preference for Republican nominee back in 2000. He seemed like a real straight shooter, and I thought he’d earned it. Obama was seriously underqualified. He’d have been a better president with a few more years’ government experience; and he had lots of time left in his natural career. It is probably a curse to be elected president too young.

2012—Obama vs. Romney

I wanted to see Gingrich get the nomination. But given the choice, Romney. Romney seemed to have demonstrated truly impressive executive competence. And seemed to be a moral character. Let him get in there and tidy up a bit. Get some honesty back in government.

2016—Trump vs. Clinton

I did not want Trump to get the nomination. But since he was nominated, Trump over Clinton. Clinton looked to me like a criminal, and possibly a Russian asset. Were she to be elected, the US would only be embroiled in the need to impeach her.

2020—Biden vs. Trump

So they ended up trying to impeach Trump for the crime Clinton was probably guilty of. The violent reaction of the media and the Democratic opposition to Trump demonstrated the need to have elected him. Something was obviously seriously wrong in government, and we needed an outsider to fix it. This time there was no question in my mind. It was fantastically dangerous to elect Biden, because he was not competent to be president, and would be controlled by some unknown party or parties. It looked like a perfect setup for a fascist government to take over. It still does.